Method of making metal packing-rings.



R. B. WASSON. METHOD OF MAKING METAL PACKING RINGS.

APPLICATION I'ILED MAR.B,'1911.

' Patented Nov. 14,1911.

2 EHEBTS-SHEET 1.

fllllllHHlllHHIIHHIHIHHHHHHHIIHIIIHIHHW Inventor:

R. B. WASSON. METHOD OF MAKING METAL PACKING RINGS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. s, 1911.

1,009,000. Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

lsa- UNITED STATES PATENT: orator.

.ROBERT B. WASSQN. drcminronn, NEW JERSEY.

To all wlwm'ci maylconcern V Be it known t at I, Rommr B. WASSON, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Qranford, in thecounty of Union, State of ',New'Jei'sey have invented certain new and tuseful Improvements inMethods of Making Metal Pekin liings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to methods of making metal packing rings, The'packing rings made by this method are either in the nature of piston rings, which exert an outward radial pressure, or stufling box rings, which exert an inward radial pressure. The rings are of that kind in which the radial pres.

sure is due to the resiliency of the metal of the ring, and notto external springs.

Among the objects of the present inven-,

tion are to provide a packing ring that will form as nearly as possible an absolutelytight joint both with the part carrying it and with thepart with which it has slidable contact, to render the radial pressure of the.

ring un form at all points circumferentially thereof, to minimize the amount of clearance {Ir-space. between the ring and the walls of its retaining groove when in working conclition', so as to" minimize the accumulation of oil,-etc., to secure approximately the mineirimum equal radial pressure that will produce a gas tight joint, thus reducing vear 4 and friction and consequent loss of power,

tosecure an equal distribution of weight throughout the annulus so as to' avoid the teiidencyfof a plurality of rings underwvorking conditions to localize ornline their slots,and to enablethering tobe produced in an economical manner. I

With these and other ends in view, the ine0 vention may be said to consist in the method hereinafter described and-more particularly pointed out'in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention: Figure 1 is aplan view 46 of the blank before cutting; Fig. 2 is a simi- 9 lat view ofthe blank after cutting; Fig; 3 is -i a plan view of the piston ring after having been hammered so as to cause the ends to separate;.] ig. 4 is a side view of 3; Fig. a, panoramic view of a portion of the inner surface of the piston ring, showing semi-diagrammatically the result of the hammering Fig. 6 is av sectional view, show- -ingthefring held in position to be hamfijniiered and the hammer in position to denn'rnonor MAKING METAL rnoKme-nmes.

Specification of Iletters Pat ent. Pgtented Nov. 14, 1911'. A lication filed March a, 1911. Serial n. 613,005.

gitudinal-section a suitable instrument 'for gaging the tension of the ring} Fig, 9 is a sectional side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 8; 'and'Figs. 10 and 11 are sectional views showing the completed piston ring seated in a groove in apis'ton and exerting circumfcrentially-uniform .radi al spring pressure on the confiningwall of the cy l inder. i y

In making a piston ring in accordance with my invention, I may, and preferably do, first produce an annulus of cast iron or. other suitable metal which is of the same cross-section throughout, and which is cir cular both inside and out, Furthermore, this blank may be, and preferably is, of substantially the same external diameter as the bore of the cylinder and of substantially the a same internal diameter as the bottom of. the groove in thepiston inwhich it is to y be seated. The order of the subsequentsteps may be varied. Inthe particular form of the invention here described, I .now out or split the, annulus, preferably at one point: and preferably with-a diagonal cut The} annulus is preferably so cut that a minimum amount of metal is removed, that is, only so .much is removed as isnecessary to allowxfor I thermal expansion and contraction while in use, say twenty thousandths of an inch. I now proceed to a mostimportant step, which consists in mechanically and pcrmanently distorting the structure of theinsidc; surface portion of th metal ring. This operation results in spreading the annulus and increasing all its diameters, so as to 7 separate its ends, so that, in order to introduce the ring in position on the piston inside the cylinder, it will benecessary to compress the ring back to its normalor origiualcin cnlar proportions; the ring will. thenexei t' 10.0 i a radial outward pressure that is due to the" tion thereby occasiouing the'outward spring pressure. The distortion of the inner superfieial region of the ring" is preferably accomplished by hammering in the cold,an l is preferably in the nature of a superficral compacting or compression of the structure of the metalalong the inner circumference so as to produce a kind of compression spring actlon by the circumferential compacting' of "the particles, of metal. The ham-.

both directions to the two ends, where it is minimum. The energy of the blows used in hammering does not decrease uniformly from the middle or uncutto the cut portion of the ring. It decreases at first slowly and then very rapidly and then .again more slowly; The superficial distortion is synimetrical or 'substantially so for both halves ofthe ring. 'By means of this graduated dis-- tortion of the inner superficial region of the ring I am enabled to secure'an equal outward radial pressure at all points circum ferentially of ,the ring.-'-' The hammering or distorting 0})8IatlOID-1S"SO conducted as to leave the radial thickness of the annulus to all intents and purposes unchanged; smthat the annulus, as before hammeringis of uniform cross-section throughout. When the ring so made is placed in its groove in a piston and compressed-by the confining wall of the cylinder, itfills its groove substantially all'the way to the bottom, uniformly all the way around, and preferably it is of the same internal and external diameter as before hammering, and has the same very slight space between its ends.' This space is ust sullicient to allow for the differential thermal expansion of the ring and piston, and is substantially closed when the parts heat up to the usual running temperature. The insertion of the ring in the cylinder compresses the open ring from all radial directions, shortening allof the diameters or axes of the open ring, so that the ring exerts outward radial-pressure in all directions, at the region of the split aswell as elsewhere.

Before the ring is put into use I prefer to grind it on the outer periphery and on the two sides, ust-lsufiiciently to insure a; smooth joint.-

of an internal-diameter equal to, or substan tially equal to, the internal diameter of the cylinder which the rings are to fit. The rings are then held in this circular form by lateral clamping means, after which the gage is removed and the grinding performed while the ring or rings are so clamped. The

,QPreferably One or more rings are first oonfinedfin a circular gage or holder.

grindingmay be done before the ring is out if or split; 1

In making a stufling box ring, I start with a blank which may be of cast iron such as I have already described. I now out asbefore, removing a minimum amount of metal. The hammering is then performed on the outside of the ring, instead of the inside, the operation being otherwise the same. This hammering operation tends to make the ring contract with its ends overlapped, so that when thering is seated in its groove in a stuffing box or the'like it exerts a uniform radial pressure inward on the shaft. In making a smiling box ring, I may remove a very little more metal in the cutting operation than I prefer to do when making a piston ring, orv else I'may make the blank of slightly smaller diameter internally than the shaft or rod with which. the ring is to make a-tight, sliding joint; so as to'insure that the abutting of the ends of the ring due to thermal expansion of the metal will not put an end to the inward pressure on the shaft. The grinding of the stulhngbox ring to pro duce a smooth joint is pertormedon the inner surface and the two sides.

-I prefer to perform the hammering oper- I ation with achammer or striker having a narrow striking face as long as or longerthan the width of the inner or outer face of the'annulus. Preferably, the side faces of the striker-converge, and the striking face is slightly curved transversel One form of sucha striker is shown in l 'gs. 6 and 7.

In operation the striking face of the hammer i's'disposed parallel to the width of the inneror outer surface of the annulus being worked on. I may so distribute the blows of this hammer that they overlap, producing a substantially continuous compacting along the length of the surface of the annulus; but I prefer to space the blows slightly, so that the superficial portion of the annulus will be condensed in a series of parallel strips or lines. This distortion of the structure of the metal may have a Visible effect in the nature of, a slight ribbing or banding of the surface,as shown semi-diagrammatically in Fig. 5. This ribbing as a surface configuration is, however, extremely slight, there being preferably no appreciable or material distance between the high and low'portions of theribbing." The effect of the distortion producedin this manner, and also where the transverse lines of condensation are caused to overlap, is confined largely or almost entirely to a circumferential direction; that is to sa vthe effect of the blows on the metal ma e said to comprise a radial component an a a lateral component, and by my method I confine the lateral component to a circular or circumferential direction. In this way, the compacting of the metal is caused to yield maximum results in the way of radial with fthe hainmeringi operation and to at.-

expansion of the ring when the latter is confined in use.- Thus the hammering need never be so heavy as to produce appreciable alteration of the cross-section of the rinm.

the ring in. such a way as-not to interfere.

'forda' solid support for the circumference that is not-being hammered. A suitable device. for. piston ringsis shown in Fig. 6,

wherein 10 is a metal holder, sufiieiently ',-heavy for the purpose, having an internal circular seat 11 (which may be replaceable by seats-of various sizes if desired) forthe periphery .of the ring 11, 12 is a fixed side clamping faceon the seat- 11 and 13 is a-removable retaining ring, desirably threaded into the holder 10, and affording a complementary side clamping face. Thus, the

outer and major portions of the two sides ofthepiston ring are clamped and the periphery is afforded solid support during the hammering. The-side clampingof the ring contributes to the minimizing of the side wise spreading of the metal under hammermg; I

From time time I may, and preferably ,do, gagetheresult of the hammering, and ,proceed accordingly. This testing may be effected in-a variety of ways. For purposes of illustration I have shown in Figs. 8 and 9, a liolder20 for a piston ring, having aninternakcircular'seat of the same diameter as the cylinder bore. which the ring A is to Thezring is slipped into this holder, and a=pressure-indicating instrument such as indicated by the numeral QI-is pressed 'against'the periphery of the portion or portions of the ring to be tested. The holder 20 may be provided with'any suitable mun-- ber'of radial openings 22, 'tln'ough'which the. instrument 21 ma be inserted against-the periphery of the piston ring. The pressure indicating instrument may be of any suitable nature. The device shown is of known construction, consisting of a barrel 23 through which slides a plunger '24 and in which is contained a spring '25 that opposes the rearward movement of the plunger.

The plunger may bear pound orot-her gradnations 26, to indicate the pressure at which the portion of the ring pressed upon yields from its seat in the holder 20. This is, of

course, the same as the outward radial pressure'exerted bythis portion of the piston ring. In order that the operator may know when the pistonring first begins to yield, any'suitable form of multiplying index or otherindicator may be employed. For purposes ofjillustratiom'I haveshown a bracket 30 rotatably mounted on the holder 20,'normallylocked by 'anut' 31 and carryinga pivanyljposition of the bracket bearsagainst oted pointer=32 the short arm 33 of which in ring Amounted in a customar'y peripheral.

the inner surface of the piston ring. The

ring is tested during hammering, until an,

e ual .ressure is indicatedat all points? hen he gage indicates a uniform pressure all the way. around the ring, that pressurezflo being the minimum that will preserve agaswa' tight {oint, sayfive pounds, then it is known:

that t ie hammering .is being performedjcor-a ctly. B means'of this gaging stepI maya .1

perform t e hammering of the packing ring-d entirely by hand and in an=.empirical'maneij M n'er, "Or ;I may perform :the hammering bye.-

a' suitable machine, automaticallyvaryings the blows bycam means designed according; g3 to'the particularsize of ring and-"the pair. 89 ticular metal employed, .13 g if their hammering be conducted-in this'manner, than, gaging step is useful since it-enables varia-e tion in the metal of the-same ring ordiifer u ent rings to be detected and. compensatedn 5 for by harder or softer hammering as the: case may be. In fact one of the features .ot

m y invention is that I am enabled to insurer; uniform .radial ring pressure by coni enu 0E sailing for all variations in the "metal 0 they-Q ring. Bymcans of the gaging operation I can also adjust the machineaccurately nntilri it turns out rings capable of'exerting the :desired uniform pressure. 7 :"Jsi w A packing ring made according to my iiivention is of. equal cross sectionthroughouti The feature of uniform cross-section isof iz primary importance, .sinceit insures that-then? .ringwill not onlyfiform a tight jointwith 08 the cylinder wall (in case of apistonwing), 10? but also with the piston that-carries ity's lic i' the groove inthe piston is accuratelyfitted and. tilled-all the .way"'around.- Minimuml clearance or space betu'een -the ring and the bottom of its groove, produces-a gas-tight joint. The same is true, of course; with a stufiing box ring, the carrier there being th 1;; inclosing part w -17 we.

Packing rings made-according to 'lny in l vention have their weight equally distri uted, so that there is no tendency of two or more rings in a piston or stniting-box toi' work to a position with theirsl t orcut il r in series. The ring in use aifords a uniforrrp't wearing'surt'acc. One of the great features* of the ring is that it exerts equal radial pressure at all points circumferentia'lly. Moreover, by my method'this pressure'may bei the minimum that will maintain a gas'j-tight' f" joint. I thus reduce wear and power loss, ,120. which are increased if the pressure is un necessarily high at'any or all points. In Figs. 10 and 11 I have shown'a-pistoni groove 42 in a-piston 40 and exerting uhi qz form outward radial pressure the-i1," wall of the confining cylinder. 41. 2 "5 Iclaini- *519. 1." The method ofmaking metal packing. rings, which consists-.in iproducin'gan'janiw such central ing' one under workin l nular blank of substantiall uniform cross- ;section, splitting the annu us, and permathe split'to minimum at the ends "so as to: cause the ring to exert a circumferentialllyluniform radial spring pressure under' wor ing conditions; 4

2, The method of making metal packing rings, which consists in 'r'oducing an annular blank of substantially uniform crosssection, splitting the annulus with slight remoral of metal, and compacting by hammerof the circular sides of the annulus with blows varying in intensity from maxi mum at the point opposite the split to minimum at the ends so as to cause the ring to exert a circumferentially-unifcrm radialsprmg pressure under working conditions. 3. The method of making metal packing rings, which consists in compacting by 11ammering one of the circular sides of an annulus substantially without varying the cross-section of'tlie annulus and with blows so varied in force circumferentially of the annulus as to cause the ring to exert'a circuinferentially-uniform radial spring pressure under working conditions.

.4. The method of making metal packing rings, which consists in hammering one of the circular surfaces of an annulus of uni-' form cross-section with blows varying in intensity from maximum at a central point toward minimum in both directions from point, substantially without altering the cross-section of the annulus and so as to cuuse'the ring to exert a circuluferentially-uniform radial spring pressure conditions. -5. The met 10d of making metal packing rings, which consists in densifying one of the circular. sides of an annulus in such manner aslo confine the lateral etl'e'ctof the dcnsilicutit-u to a circumferential dircction, and in degree varying circumi'crontially so asto give rise to circumlercntially-uniform radial springpressure under working conditions of the ring.

6. The method of making metal packingrings, which consists in densi'fyingone of the circular sides of an annulus of uniform cross-section substantially without altering the cross-section of the annulus and in such manner as to' confine thelateral effect of the densification to a circumferential direction, and in degree varying circumferen tially so as to give rise to circumferentially-- uniform radial spring pressure under working conditions of the ring.

7. The mcthod of making metal packing.

rings, which consists in densifying one of the-curved sides of an annulus by blows varying in intensity from maximum -at a central the ring asto rings, consisting in to one of the circumferences of the annulus" rections stantially not to, alter the cross-section of point toward in bothsdi therefrom, in'such manner as sub -i the annulusandtoconfine the lateral effect.

of the densification to acir'cular direction.

8. The methodof making metal packing ri'ngs, consisting in affording solid circular, support to one of the curved sides of an annulus, and hammering the other curved side of the annulus so, as to alter the diameter of theannulus substantially without alteringthe cross-section and withblows so varied in intensity produce a .ferentially-varleddistortion of the structure of the metal at the side hammered of a character to causegthe'ring to' exert a circumferentially-unif orm radial spring pressure under working conditions.

9. The method of making metal packing afi'ording solid support circumferentiallyof ermanent circums and rigidly clamping the sides, and ha mering the other circumferenceof the airnulus so as to alter the diameter of the cross-section and with blows so varied in intensity" circunifeientially of ,the ring as to ,produce"a permanent circumferentially-' varied distortion of the structure of the metal at theiside hammered of a character to cause theringtolexert a -circumferentially-u'niformradialrspring pressure wider v working conditions.

. 10. The method of making metalpackin rings, which consists in hammering one 0 the curved sides of anannulus so as to alter the diameter of the annulus substantially without altering the CI'OSSTSECblOH and with blows so varied circumfrentially of the ring to produce a permanent circumferen-nj" tially-varied distortion of thest-ructure of' the metal at the side hammered of a-character to cause the ring to exert a circumferentially-uniform radial spring pressure undcr working conditions, and from time to .time gaging the radial the ring when confined as under workingv I a iconditions.v I v A 1-1. The method of making met-a1 packing 'iio pressure exerted by e rings, which exert a predetermined circum;

ferentially-uniform radial spring pressure under working conditions, said method con-.

.sisting in hammering one of the curved sides' of an annulus so as to alter the diameter of the annulus substantially without altering the cross-section-and with blowsj which are heaviest at: the middleof the ring and become milder in both directions therefrom and are further variedto-oompensate for irregularities in the meta l so as to produce a permanent cimumferentiallyamried distort-ion of the structure of the metal at the side hammered of a character to cause the ring to exert a circumferentially-umform 901 annulus substantially without altering the radial spring tions. 12. The method of making metal packing rings which consists in hammering one of the circumferences of an annulus so as to alter the diameter of the annulus substantially without altering the cross-section and" with blows which are heaviest at the middle and become milder in both directions therefrom, the hammering being so conducted .that the several blows produce transverse-strip-like densification areas in the hammered circumference. 13. The method of making metal packing pressure under working condirings, which consists in producing a, split annulus, and causing the annulus to spring from its original diameter With a circumferentially-uniform radial force by producing, by hammering one of the curgved sides of the annulus substantially without altering the eross section thereof, a permanent distortion ofthe structure of the metal at this side, circumferential. in direction and varied in degree from maximum at the re gion opposite the split to minimum toward the ends.

14. The method of making metal packing rings, which consists in producing a split 7 annulus, and causing the annulus to spring open with a ciicumferentially-uniform radial force by producing, by hammering the inner curved side of the annulus without,

altering the cross-section thereof, a, per-- manent distortion of the struc 'we of the metal atthisfside, circumferential in directi'on and variedin degree from maximum at "the region opposite the split to minimum toward the ends. I q

1,5." The method of producing metal packing rings which exert substantially-equalradial spring pressure. at all points under working conditions, which consists in hammering one of theicircumferences ofa blank of substantially-uniform cross-section with blows, which,,regarding them as progressin from the middle in each direction towa' the split, portion of the blankfdecrease in force, at first gradually, then more rapidly, andgradually again toward the split.

16. The method of producing metal-packing rings which exert substantially-equal radial spring pressure at all points under workingconditions, which. consists in comname to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT-B. WASSON. Witnesses:

J. J. KozINN, D. HAROLD BUSH. 

